The shimmering, windswept first novel by the internationally acclaimed
author of Out Stealing Horses.
Echoland is the powerful and emotionally resonant first novel from Per
Petterson. Written in the mold of his early story collection Ashes in
My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes, it features a young Arvid Janssen, who is
now twelve, on the verge of his teenage years and beginning to
understand more about the world and his place in it. Set over the course
of a single formative summer, the novel captures a series of episodes
from Arvid's long visit to his grandparents' home in Denmark. He rides
his bike around town, befriends other children on the beach, fishes for
plaice, and weathers misunderstandings with his mother and grandparents,
all of which Petterson imbues with the hope and yearning that come with
this stage of life. Echoland is an assured and poignant beginning for
an author--and character--who would go on to be loved the world over.